Glowing Report on Firm X
Isn't What You Might Think

By

Lee Gomes Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

Updated June 24, 2002 10:02 a.m. ET

Last year, Onetta Inc., a Silicon Valley fiber-optics start-up, wanted to call attention to its innovative communications products. So, it says, it told its story to Aberdeen Group, a market-research firm in Boston.

Aberdeen seemed to be impressed, because it soon published a very positive research report. The report said, for instance, that Onetta had a "commitment to high performance" and an "intelligent product...